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Brand Positioning of Nike | STP Analysis of Nike

Brand Positioning of Nike

Understanding the Segmentation, Targetting and Positioning of Nike

Nike, an Amercian multinational corporation, established in the year 1964, is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services.

Nike is the world’s largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment.

The company gets its name from Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.

Apart from its name, few other brands under which Nike markets its products are :

In this article, we will talk about the Positioning of Nike and how it segments and targets the market and then position itself differently for each market segment.

positioning of NIKE

Segmentation :

Market segmentation is the process of dividing up mass markets into different groups of similar needs and wants. The motive behind segmentation is Get to know the customer in a much more detailed manner, gain a competitive advantage and be able to serve the customers’ needs and wants in a better way.

Nike uses different types of segmentation to break a bigger market into small customer groups.

1. Psychographic Segmentation:

Psychographic segmentation divides markets according to peoples’ lifestyle, their social or personality characteristics.

Ever thought what happens when a brand touches the emotions and aspirations of its customers and build on it to position itself. Nike is one such example that you will find.

No matter who you are, whether you are a fat American man who can barely walk or a 65-year-old man trying to do any sort of physical activity or a middle age urban woman who plans to switch to a healthier lifestyle and get back in shape, the brand connects with every possible target group on a psychological manner.

With the mindset that everyone is an athlete, Nike targets to cater to all the people around the world, belonging to any age group who wants to live athletics’ lifestyle.

Nike taps into the emotions of the global audience by addressing themselves as an athletic-wear company that exists with the belief that everyone in this world is an athlete.

2. Demographic Segmentation:

Segmentation according to demography is based on consumer- demographic variables such as age, income, family size, socio-economic status, etc.

Nike targets middle and high segment customers of all age groups and does not set a bias for any group.

The pricing of Nike products is set in such a way that it is easily accessible to these customer segments.

TARGETING :

After segmentation, the company needs to decide on the Targeting strategy. Companies need to select the market segments that they want to focus on and put in their future business strategy. The marketer faces a number of important decisions:

What criteria should be used to evaluate markets?

How many markets to enter (one, two or more)?

Which market segments are the most valuable?

Below are three factors that are essential for evaluating a potential market segment.

Segment size and growth

Segment structural attractiveness

Company objectives and resources.

Above mentioned are the few potential market segments that Nike chooses to target for driving their business strategy, sales and marketing activities.

POSITIONING:

Positioning is the final step in the S-T-P planning approach; Segmentation→ Targeting → Positioning; a core framework for developing marketing plans and setting objectives

On finalizing the market segments that the company wants to target, the marketer’s next step is to design a marketing program that will resonate with the target market or markets.

In-depth knowledge of the key market segment’s like their buying behavior, their likes, spending patterns, purchase drivers, media habits, etc are required before devising the marketing strategy or programs.

Developing customers personas is one step that marketers follow while creating profiles for customers in their target market segments.